


until the sun sets

by Ranger_NJoyC



Category: The Pandoran Novels Series - Barbara Kloss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:55:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27381529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ranger_NJoyC/pseuds/Ranger_NJoyC
Summary: Alex meets Danton for the first time.
Relationships: Alexander Del Conte & Thaddeus Regius, Danton Pontefract & Alexander Del Conte





	until the sun sets

Alex swung his sword one last time at the training dummy. He was sweating heavily as he lowered his sword and stepped back to admire his work. The dummy was covered in paint, in all of it’s critical places, where Alex’s sword had slashed.

Alex looked around. He was the first to finish, and he watched quietly as the other trainees hit the dummies with paint-covered swords. When everyone had finished the drill, a sharp whistle was blown. The instructor- a large, beefy man with a thick mustache- straightened his back and looked down at his clipboard. His face held a perpetual scowl as he slid his gaze along the row of trainees.

“First done was-” The man consulted his clipboard, “Mr. Del Conte.” He marched over to where Alex stood, muttering to himself. “How can someone finish in less than thirty seconds, that’s ludicrous. I bet he’s sloppy, sloppy and arrogant.”

The instructor finally came to a halt in front of Alex. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the verdict. The man opened his mouth, ready to yell about how awful Alex’s swordsmanship was. Then he froze. He blinked.

Alex looked up at the instructor, faintly proud of his ability to make him speechless. Wordlessly, the man gave Alex a hearty pat on the shoulder, swallowing and saying gruffly, “Good job, son.”

Alex couldn’t contain his smile any longer, as the people around him started to shift and mutter. Several crowded closer for a better look at Alex’s training dummy. The dummy was covered in neat, clean strokes in exactly the right places.

The instructor cleared his throat, then marched up to the next fastest person: Danton Pontefract. He glared at Danton for almost a full minute, before speaking in a low tone. Alex had to strain his ears to hear what he was saying.

“Do you call this a killing stroke? Do you call this a clean line?” The instructor was slowly building volume, and Alex resigned himself to the long process of hearing him yell at every single one of his students for something or another. Until he heard his name.

“Look at Del Conte’s dummy. Go learn from him! Speed isn’t everything, and didn’t I tell you not to rush? Didn’t I specifically tell you, Mr. Pontefract, that you should go slow and get it precise? Del Conte’s never even been in my class before, and he’s already one thousand times better than you.”

Alex immediately felt alarmed. He didn’t want to be used as an example, even as a good one. Silently, he worried that Danton would resent him for this. Danton made eye contact with Alex, and for a split second, he had a look of pure hatred in his gaze. Then it melted into something cold and hard as he turned back to the instructor.

Thad elbowed Alex lightly. “Impressive,” he muttered out of the corner of his mouth. “You’ve gotten in The Man’s good books.”

‘The Man’ was the common nickname for the instructor teaching the class. He had never shared his name, instead telling the trainees to call him ‘sir’ if they had to address him at all.

Alex’s lips quirked upwards at his friend’s comment, but he was still thinking about Danton.

\---

During lunch break, Danton slid into the seat opposite Alex. Thad grinned and waved, and Danton smiled a strained smile back at him. Alex nodded politely, trying to gauge Danton’s purpose.

“Great work in class today,” Danton said to Alex after a minute of silence. Alex froze, eyeing Danton, but all he could tell, Danton actually meant it, no matter how much it pained him to say.

“Thanks,” Alex replied. “I don’t think we’ve formally met. Alexander Del Conte.” Alex stuck out a hand.

Danton accepted it. He had a strong grip. “I know,” Danton said, a tad enviously. “Everyone knows who you are. All of the sword masters are talking non-stop about you. I’m Danton, Danton Pontefract.”

Alex tried not to feel shy at the compliment. “Nice to meet you, Danton.” Alex racked his brains, trying to remember where he had heard the name before. “Ah, yeah, well. If all of the swords experts are talking about me, you should hear how the magic instructors rant about you!”

Danton laughed, his eyes lighting up with pride. “Yeah, well. I am really quite good at magic, to be honest.”

Alex smiled at him, feeling more at ease. Thad swallowed a bite of his meal, standing up and stretching.

“As much as I hate to break up this bro-bonding sesh, it is time for class, so we should probably head out.” Thad’s eyes sparkled. “Unless-”

“Thad, no,” Alex cut in. “It’s only my first year here, I can’t skip class. It would leave a bad impression, plus all of this stuff is super important to learn.”

Danton smirked. “That implies you’ll be ditching class in years to come.”

Thad laughed out loud. “I like this one,” He said in between giggles. “Let’s keep him.”

Danton cocked his head to the side. “I have a feeling we’re going to be pretty good friends.”

Alex smiled earnestly. “See you around, Danton.”

“See you around,” Danton said, saluting Alex with the tips of his fingers.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so- I noticed that there is absolutely no content for The Pandoran Novels. It is a really great series, and deserves a lot more recognition, so I figured I would start posting some content for it as well, in case there are any blood-thirsty fangirls like me out there, desperately searching for content from this incredible series.


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